Beggars in Ermine

Based on a novel by Esther Lynd Day, this 1934 drama stars the quintessential screen villain Lionel Atwill in a believable and brilliant sympathetic role as steel-mill owner John Dawson, who loses his factory and his legs in a tragic accident. Longing fora reason to live, the destitute Dawson travels the country with a newfound friend, blind peddler Marchant, played by Henry B. Walthall. Dawson essentially unionizes Marchant's beggar buddies, who in turn, end up helping the former industrialist regain his company by exposing his crooked business manager as the one who engineered the accident.